


Why Talk With Shovels When You Have Pile Drivers?

by Dr_Wahoo



Category: The Transformers (Cartoon Generation One), Transformers Generation One
Genre: Attempted Shovel Talk, Cassettes as Family, Established Relationship, Fluff, Humor, Multi, Pranks, Shovel Talk, Starscream being Starscream
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-08
Updated: 2020-07-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:27:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25151605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dr_Wahoo/pseuds/Dr_Wahoo
Summary: Megatron is pleased by his new relationship with Soundwave. He is less than pleased, however, by the puzzling behavior of the cassettes. It takes him a bit to catch on.
Relationships: Cassettes & Megatron, Cassettes & Soundwave, Megatron/Soundwave (Transformers)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 146





	Why Talk With Shovels When You Have Pile Drivers?

**Author's Note:**

> Full disclosure: this is pretty self-indulgent and written to help de-stress after a tough few days. I did my best to keep everyone in character, but please let me know how I did. Comments and constructive criticism are welcome!

  
Megatron and Soundwave strode down the halls of the _Victory._ Their servos brushed together, sending butterflies aflutter in the former’s tanks. It wasn’t becoming of a warlord, but Megatron didn’t care. He never doubted himself before, and he felt nigh unstoppable with Soundwave at his side. Nobody would dare to question the great conquerer and his most formidable—

“Soundwave: can almost hear your giddiness.”

“...ah. Forgive me, Soundwave. I would hate to overwhelm your senses.”

“Negative. Megatron’s feelings: a great pleasure to experience.”

“It is most agreeable to have them in the open at last,” Megatron conceded, smiling. “I find myself wishing to make up for lost time.”

Soundwave slid their servos together, brushing a thumb over his knuckles. “Time with Megatron: never time lost. But this time: appreciated and cherished.”

Megatron smiled even wider. Not one to be outdone, he leaned in and pressed a kiss to the ridge of Soundwave’s mask. The red visor flared under the touch of his lips. “I couldn’t agree more,” he murmured, chuckling at the sight.

A door opened in the distance. Starscream’s screeching voice echoed down to them. “...absolute incompetence! If  I  were leading us, then...!”

Soundwave squeezed his servo. “Megatron: should attend to the bridge,” he said, voice dryer than usual.

“...of course. You are fortunate to have a mission outside these walls today.”

“Cassette Ravage: has agreed to observe and guard in Soundwave’s stead.”

“Thank Primus for small mercies,” Megatron grumbled.

They stood together for a little longer. When the screeching grew in volume, Soundwave released his servo and stepped back. “Ravage: eject.”

Ravage flew from his chest, landing on all fours. His audials flicked at the racket from down the hall. Growling, he slipped between them and stalked ahead.

Megatron grimaced. “I will have to make this up to him.”

“Warning: he may request mauling Starscream as a favor.”

“Would that truly be so terrible?”

Soundwave leveled an unimpressed stare at him. Megatron sighed, nodded and turned away with a final wave. He heard Soundwave’s pedefall retreat behind him as he followed Ravage to the bridge.

As it turned out, he didn’t have to berate Starscream for his foolishness. One throaty snarl from Ravage silenced him. His mood much improved, Megatron settled into his throne to read the morning reports. He saw Ravage seat himself at the foot of the throne in his peripheral vision.

A sound caught his attention. He lowered his datapad.

At his pedes, Ravage unsheathed his claws. They scraped against each other, sharpening their wicked and curved tips. Sparks scattered over the floor. He met Megatron’s gaze and, without blinking, continued to scrape his claws together.

Megatron’s brow furrowed. He glanced around, but saw no discernible threat that would prompt this behavior. Starscream refused to even look in his direction.

Ravage moved to dragging his claws across the floor. It left deep gouges, shredding metal like paper. Then, he stretched out his lithe frame and yawned. His jaws split and revealed rows of sharp, bristling fangs.

The sight sent an involuntary shiver down Megatron’s struts.  _ What is the cause of this display?  _ he wondered.  _ Perhaps he is simply demonstrating his battle readiness to his leader? Yes... yes, that must be it. _

He sat up a little straighter in his throne and picked up his datapad again. With his attention elsewhere, Ravage’s puzzled stare went unnoticed.

  
  


*************************

_ “What do you mean, he didn’t understand?” _

_ “He barely blinked at my threat display. It’s clear he didn’t understand that it  was a threat display, much less a warning to be mindful.” _

_ “That’s because you’re too subtle.” _

_ "I can’t outright threaten him, much less give him a verbal shovel talk! He’s our leader and partner to our creator.” _

_ “Are you forgetting the latter part is why we’re doing this at all?” _

_ "Why don’t  you  two try it, then?” _

_ “Oh, we will.” _

*********************  
  
  


That evening, Megatron stepped into his quarters and grinned. He knew Soundwave had returned, thanks to his report, but that didn’t diminish the sight in front of him. His partner laid across the berth on his back, visor dimmed and vents sighing. The lulled hum of systems in recharge filled the room.

Megatron made as little sound as possible. Mindful of his bulk, he inched his giant pedes across the floor and to their berth. He took a cautious seat on its edge before swinging his legs up. When Soundwave didn’t stir, he breathed a sigh and laid down next to him. Warmth from his vents washed over his plating like a blanket. Not long after, his optics offlined into recharge as well.

Time passed without awareness. He slept shoulder to shoulder with his partner, warm and content. Only the creak of the berth beneath them filtered through his muted senses.

That is, until a fluttering sound broke through his recharge.

Megatron’s optics snapped online. Battle protocols activated, startling him to full alert. His audials registered the continued fluttering before it quieted into cool silence. 

However, senses that didn’t originate from any of his sensors said something else. They were old, well-developed instincts built up by vorns of battle. They told him he was being watched. Bit by bit, he turned his helm to the side.

Two burning sets of golden optics greeted him. 

A hiss drew in through his vents. He almost swung up his fusion cannon before he saw the shadowy outlines of beaks, wings and talons.

Megatron blinked. Buzzsaw and Laserbeak didn’t blink back.

They sat in the rafters. From their place above, they almost loomed over him like cyberhawks over prey. Angular wings and curved beaks glinted in the dim light through the porthole. Their talons wriggled a restless dance on their perch.

_ Why are they looking at me like that? What...? _

They narrowed their optics. Their helms swayed, nodding to Soundwave before refocusing their glares on him. Megatron could only muster a blank stare.

Then, it clicked.  _ Oh! _

He gave Soundwave’s shoulder a gentle shake. “Soundwave?” he whispered. “I am sorry, but Laserbeak and Buzzsaw wish to dock with you.”

As Soundwave gave a bleary mumble, Megatron missed two frustrated huffs.

*********************

_ “Well, well. Our roles have been reversed.” _

_ “Ravage?” _

_ “Hm?” _

_ “Shut up.” _

_ “Why, you—“ _

_ “I just don’t  understand! Laserbeak and I were at our most intimidating last night, and he still didn’t get the message!” _

“Whoa, whoa. Chill out, bros—“

_ “Ahem.” _

“—and Laserbeak, sorry. Maybe we’re not goin’ about this the right way.”

“Yeah! I mean, this is  Megatron! You think we can really intimidate the guy?”

_ “...what devilish plan have you two concocted now?” _

“Aw, Rav. I’m hurt.”

_ “Firstly: never call me ‘Rav’ again. Secondly—“ _

“Or else what?”

_ “Or else you’ll find a paintball on your game console.” _

“What?!”

“Yeah? Well, we can—!”

**" _Secondly_ ,** _the reason we haven’t involved you two in this is because you always send everything off the rails.” _

“Has anythin’ you guys tried been runnin’ _on_ the rails?”

_ “...” _

_“...I hate to say it, but—“_

_ “Laserbeak. For the love of Primus, don’t finish that sentence.” _

_ “—but they might have a point.” _

_“Damn it.”_

“Ha! In your faces!”

“Whaddya say to that, Rav?”

_“I feel a tickle coming on in my throat...”_

“Huh? Wait, no no no no—!”

_ “All of you, cut it out! Rumble, Frenzy... please, just tell us whatever it is you’re thinking. We’re at a loss."_

“Well, it’s like we said. You can’t  intimidate  him ‘cause he’s Megatron...”

“...so we do the next best thing! Make his life a living Pit!”

_ “You’re going to go horribly overboard, aren’t you.” _

“You got any better ideas?”

_ “Actually... no. Go ahead with this plan of yours.” _

“Wait, really?”

“Seriously? You got a screw loose or somethin’?”

_“No. I realized your doing so will invoke his wrath, and potentially Soundwave’s as well. And I won’t have to put up with you two anymore because you’ll be **dead."**_

“Hey!”

“Okay, that’s it! It’s on now!”

  
************************

Megatron all but forgot the cassettes’ strange behavior over the next few cycles. He had to draft battle plans, organize raids and argue with Starscream. Soundwave had to do the same, as well as put the intel he gleaned from his mission to use. Neither of them noticed the absence of two cassettes during recreational joors.

One of those recreational joors couldn’t have arrived sooner. Megatron trudged into the mess hall, optics dim as he beelined for the energon dispenser. He passed a table where Skywarp played cards with Astrotrain and Blitzwing. They all scrambled to attention. “Lord Megatron, sir!”

Megatron grunted. As they sat back down, he reached the dispenser and grabbed a cube. He held it under the nozzle and waited.  And waited.  And waited...

Scowling, he thumped the side of the dispenser. It sputtered a few times before he heard the gurgling of liquid through pipes. His shoulders relaxed—

_ Splurt! _

—and energon burst from the nozzle. It sprayed all over him, shoving him back and drenching his plating with sticky pink liquid.

“What in Primus—!” he bellowed, coughing.

A muffled snicker made him whirl around. Skywarp held a servo over his mouth, but his twitching wings betrayed him. His face paled. Blitzwing and Astrotrain edged away from him. “Um—“

“Is something _funny,_ Skywarp?”

“N-no, sir.”

“Not one of your jokes coming to fruition?”

“N-no! Definitely not, sir!”

Megatron turned his glare on Blitzwing, who flinched. “Uh, we didn’t see him mess with the dispenser, if that’s what you’re asking. Sir.”

“Let me guess. You didn’t see who  did, either?”

Astrotrain tried and failed to hide his considerable bulk behind his friend. “...no.”

Megatron swiped a servo across his face, growled, then stalked away. His pedes squished their way out of the room.  _ I must get to my washracks,  _ he decided.  _ Starscream will never forget it if I arrive to the briefing like this! _

Nobody dared to look at him in the halls, even as he tracked puddles of energon behind him. The rest of it sloshed in his gears and seams, having trickled its way inside. He strode faster for the lift.  _ I  will  learn who did this, mark my words! To make me bear such a humiliation is worthy of the greatest...! _

His thoughts continued in this vein as the lift doors closed in front of him. The lift lurched, then began its creaking ascent. Megatron crossed his arms and composed a message to Soundwave, warning he might be late.

The lift lurched again. This time, it ground to a screeching halt.

Megatron fell off balance. Bellowing, he toppled into the opposite wall and crushed a sizable dent. He heaved himself upright with a snarl.

Jabbing at the buttons did nothing. Neither did kicking, punching or cursing the walls of the lift. In that time, energon dried on his frame and streaked a flaking, crusty pink layer over his armor. The lift reeked like a barroom.  Gritting his denta, Megatron opened a comm. “Soundwave! I’m in a stopped lift between decks C and D. It won’t move.”

“Soundwave: acknowledges. Repair crew now approaching your location.”

“Don’t tell Starscream!”

“Understood.”

Megatron rubbed his optics, sliding down the wall. “And check security footage for the lift and the mess hall. I believe someone is responsible for both incidents.”

“Query: what happened in the mess hall?”

“Energon happened, Soundwave. It happened all over my blasted frame.”

Soundwave sent a single question mark in reply. Megatron groaned, then connected him to his visual feed. He lifted each energon-splattered limb in front of his optics.

“...statement: oh.”

“Go ahead and laugh. You’ll only be one more person who’s done so.”

“Soundwave: isn’t laughing,”  came the soft reply.  “Analysis of camera footage: now in process. Culprit will be caught. Estimated time: several klicks.”

“At least  one thing is going smoothly this cycle,” Megatron groused.

“Correction: two things.”

“What?”

“Soundwave: also now approaching your location. New mission: to dispense cleaning supplies and provide cover for Deception leader.”

“...I am going to give you proper leave from duty. And  you are going to say yes for a change.”

Before Soundwave could reply, the lift heaved. It shuddered and screeched against its chute before sliding upwards again. Through the ceiling, Megatron could hear the Constructicons shouting directions at each other. He dragged himself to his pedes and breathed a sigh.

He then choked on that sigh when a familiar, shrill voice rang out.

“What is going on here? Why wasn’t I informed of this?”

“Soundwave,” he hissed into the comm.

A panicked burst of static greeted him. Over the line, he heard pedes running over the floor.  “Soundwave: will try to intercept—!”

The doors ground open.  “You’re all acting awfully suspicious! Tell me or—!”

Starscream turned around, servos on his hips. His lips shrank from a sneer into a surprised ‘o.’ Then, it broadened into a smirk. His wings swept up into a prideful cant that Megatron knew far too well. Over one shoulder, the Constructicons took a look into the lift and fled. Over the other, Soundwave dragged a servo across his face. A faint glyph of apology trickled over their comms.

“Whatever happened to you,  mighty Megatron?” Starscream drawled. “Is the ship itself rebelling against your terrible leadership?”

“Megatron’s leadership: irrelevant to this situation,” Soundwave interjected.

“Is it?”

“Hm?”

Megatron shoved his way out of the lift, optics narrowed. “You heard me, Starscream. Is it? Does this rebellion, as you put it, have something to do with differences in opinion of my leadership?  _ Yours,  _ for instance?”

Starscream’s smirk faltered. “I — I don’t know where you got such an idea, Lord Megatron! After all, I also need to use the lift and the energon dispensers—“

“I never mentioned the energon dispenser! You couldn’t have known about it unless you were involved in its malfunction!”

“Wh— the evidence it malfunctioned is all over your front!”

“You—!”

Soundwave held up a servo, silencing both of them. Visor brightening, he stepped between them and into the lift. He knelt down in front of the buttons. After a moment, he motioned them closer. “Anomaly: detected.”

“Of what nature?”

Soundwave pointed at the buttons. For the first time, Megatron noticed they were flashing.

“So?” Starscream scoffed, leaning around him to see. “The whole lift is clearly malfunctioning. What makes the buttons so remarkable?”

“Their glyphs,” Megatron realized. “They’re spelling something out.”

_ D-O... N-O-T... M-E-S-S... W-I-T-H... T-H-E... B-O-S-S... O-R... E-L-S-E. _

“‘Boss?’ What in Primus’ name does  that  mean?”

Soundwave stiffened. “...Soundwave: might know.”

“The security analysis finished?”

“Affirmative. But...”

A crash sounded from around the corner. Swearing came after, and then the pattering of small pedes on the run. Megatron jerked his gaze to Soundwave, who came to the same realization klicks later. “Rumble! Frenzy!  _ Return!” _

The pattering sound quickened.

Megatron and Soundwave ran for the corner. Starscream followed close on their heels, cackling. “I didn’t do this, but I certainly wish I had!”

“Enough, Starscream!”

“Remind me to commend the hellions when this is all—”

“Request:  silence!"

Megatron charged around the corner. He dashed towards the retreating, smaller figures ahead, only for a pede to land on a slippery patch of floor. His pedes shot out from under him. Yelling, he toppled backwards into a squawking Starscream. They both crashed to the floor in a heap.

“You great buffoon! Get off me!” Starscream howled, shoving at his back.

“Stop hitting me!” Megatron hissed. He rolled off him, noticing the puddle of slick liquid on the floor. _That is what tripped us,_ he realized. _And as for the culprits..._

Soundwave stormed back towards them. He held Rumble and Frenzy under each arm, both of them kicking and squirming. “Culprits: apprehended.”

“Hey!” Rumble protested. “Put us down, boss!”

“Request: denied.”

“We didn’t mean real harm!” Frenzy implored.

“Real harm?!” Starscream screeched, flinging his arms out. “Look at what you’ve done to my paint job!”

“Greater concern: creating unnecessary obstacles to efficient functioning of army.”

“This  _ is  _ an obstacle to efficiency! I’ll have to spend time away from duty to buff all these scratches out!”

Megatron struggled to his pedes, silencing all of them. Glowering, he crossed his arms — and dislodged dried energon flakes in the process. More energon dripped out of his elbow joints.

He shuttered his optics. “Soundwave?”

“Yes?”

“You can discipline them. I need to visit the washracks.”

Fear brightened Rumble and Frenzy’s optic bands. “But—!”

“Acknowledged.” Soundwave tightened his arms around his creations, then spun around and stalked off.

Starscream massaged a dent on his knee. “I spent  joors polishing — oof!”

Megatron grabbed him by an elbow and hauled him to his pedes. “If it bothers you so much, get it fixed instead of sitting here and complaining.”

“You’re hardly one to talk!” he sneered. “This is all your fault, you know!”

_"My_ fault?!”

“If you hadn’t aggravated those little Pit-spawns, we wouldn’t be here right now!”

“I did no such thing!”

“Then why were they plotting against you?”

“They weren’t. It was just more of their foolish pranks, and I happened to be on the receiving end.”

Starscream snorted. “You’re as blind as ever, I see.”

Megatron clenched his fists. “Starscream—” he began, growling.

“There were no reports of the dispenser malfunctioning before yours. And according to its data logs, it had been in use all cycle. It only malfunctioned when  you  used it. The same can be said for the lift, and the puddle you slipped in just now.”

A few beats of silence passed. Megatron turned this over in his processor, cross-referencing it with data logs. His quick analysis confirmed it all.

Starscream strolled back down the hall. “I don’t know how you slagged them off so mightily,” he tossed over his shoulder. “But you clearly did  _something_...  something more than your usual incompetence, at least.”

Those words rang in his helm long after Starscream rounded the corner.

  
************************

_ “Soundwave’s in a foul mood. You know what that means.” _

_ “Those idiots got caught?” _

_ “Starscream was gossiping about it.” _

_ “Well, slag.” _

_ “‘Slag’ doesn’t quite cut it, Buzzsaw. They’ll likely spill our involvement to deflect his scolding, too. Then he’ll put a stop to everything.” _

_ “Oh, for — can this get any worse?!” _

_ “Laserbeak, what are you doing? Are you looking for something?” _

_ “I can’t find Ratbat.”  
  
_

  
****************************

Megatron shuttered his optics against the pressurized stream of solvent. He scrubbed at the same patch on his bicep, lost in thought.  _ I did nothing personal to Rumble or Frenzy. Nothing has changed between us except... except... _

His scrubbing motion slowed to a halt.

... _except for my relationship with Soundwave. _

A layer of ice formed at the bottom of his tanks. He slapped at the controls, turning off the solvent spray. The blow dryers buffeted him on all sides with warm air, but the energon in his lines still went cold.  _ Do they disapprove? Are they afraid to speak out directly against me? Or have I done something else that has led them to reject our changed relationship? _

Megatron gave his helm a shake. _ Fretting over it is useless. I must speak to them. They are Soundwave’s family and I do not wish to hurt them, nor strain their relationship with their creator. _

He shut off the dryers and emerged from his washracks. As he contemplated reattaching his fusion cannon, a soft squeak came from above. He glanced up.

Ratbat dangled upside down from the ceiling. His little optics brightened in the shadowy alcove, twinkling like rubies. He twitched and squeaked again.  Despite himself, Megatron tilted his helm. “You want down?”

Ratbat nodded.

Megatron held out a servo. Ratbat wriggled, then dropped into it. He shuttered his optics and snuggled into its palm. The sight warmed something in Megatron’s spark chamber, filling it with a mixture of pride and joy. He stroked a thumb down Ratbat’s back and smiled at the answering squeak.

Then, Ratbat raised his small helm. His optics followed the repetitive motion of the thumb stroking his back — up and down, up and down. He watched for a few clicks before glomming his mouth around the thumb.

Megatron blinked, startled. He felt denta gnaw on its plating, but not sharp enough to hurt. Ratbat met his gaze with wide, expectant optics.

_ Is... is this a game? Or perhaps... _

“Ratbat,” he said, voice soft so as not to frighten him. “Why are you biting my thumb?”

His mouth pulled away. “I wanna scare you. Am I scary?”

“Oh, it’s very scary,” he assured him. “I just don’t understand why you need to scare me.”

“Ravage, Buzzsaw, Laserbeak, Rumble n’ Frenzy were all tryna to scare you.” Ratbat paused, scrunching up his face. “I mean, I think? They used a different, big word sometimes, like in... intimi...”

“Intimidate?”

“Yeah! So I thought I should do it too.”

Megatron remembered the other incidents from several cycles ago. _Ah, so that explains more of it... but not enough._ “Why did they want to intimidate me?”

Ratbat shrugged his wings. “I dunno. They had a funny name for it, though.”

“I might know what it is.”

“Okay! They called it, um, a ‘shovel talk.’”

A pause followed. Megatron stared down at the small cassette in his palm, putting everything together. Then, he lowered his helm and chuckled. 

“What’s so funny?”

“A great many things, little one. Let’s go see your creator and siblings. I think we all need to have a chat...”

  
************************

Megatron rapped on the door to Soundwave’s quarters. Ratbat perked up in his palm, audials swiveling forwards. They heard pedes hurry over from the other side of the door. There also may or may not have been a few raised voices in the background.

The door slid open. Soundwave stalled in the doorway, visor flashing. “Megatron: status?” 

“Much better after a visit to my washracks. That, and an insightful conversation,” he chuckled, holding up Ratbat. 

“Query: insightful how?”

“It is nothing serious. Merely a misunderstanding to resolve.”

Ratbat gave an excited squeak, drawing Soundwave’s attention. They seemed to engage in a telepathic conversation before his shoulders slackened. Vents sighing, he stepped aside and allowed Megatron inside.

Soundwave’s quarters could be best described as a contained mess. His own workcenter was spotless, with shelved datapads surrounding a dust-free terminal. Everywhere else was another story. A pile of toys crammed one corner of the room, while haphazard stacks of comic books filled another. Magnetized drawings and photographs littered the walls. The furniture, which amounted to beanbag chairs and a table, looked well-worn.

All the other cassettes crowded the berth. They looked up at Megatron’s approach, falling silent. Ratbat flew over and landed between Rumble and Frenzy. 

“So,” Megatron began, grinning. “A shovel talk?”

Ravage stiffened. Laserbeak and Buzzsaw exchanged glances. Rumble and Frenzy grimaced, ducking their helms. 

Soundwave startled, turning to him. “Query:  that  was the reasoning for this?” he asked, a note of surprise entering his monotone. When Megatron nodded, he turned back to his cassettes. “Query: why?”

“‘Cause we care about you, boss!” Frenzy blurted. “And we wanna make sure Megatron treats you right! We just... uh...”

Rumble rubbed the back of his neck. “Went overboard.”

Ravage snorted. Rumble shot him a dirty look, but neither made any moves.

“You had honorable intentions,” Megatron decided. That earned him a few surprised stares.

“You... you’re not mad?” Frenzy hazarded.

“Not at all! In the mines as well as the arena, ‘shovel talks’ were common. It was a tradition, a way of demonstrating strength and resilience on both sides. We thought it chased away anyone who wasn’t truly interested and solidified others as one of us.

“I would like to fulfill this tradition with all of you,” Megatron continued. He dropped to one knee, meeting each of their gazes. “Give me an actual talk. Test my resolve! In return, I will prove myself a worthy partner to your creator.”

“So we... we can say anything?” Rumble asked, optic band flaring.

“Anything. Whatever you will do to me if I fail as a partner to Soundwave.”

“All of us?”

Megatron glanced over his shoulder. Soundwave straightened up. “Soundwave: can broaden telepathic field with non-verbal cassettes to include Megatron.”

The cassettes looked at each other. “We’re all in.”

Moments later, Megatron felt a warm presence envelop him. It ghosted over his processor like a hot breeze, weaving connections to other minds. Soundwave hesitated with him.  _ Are you certain of this course of action? _

_I am,_ Megatron thought back. _ I want their support, and to prove that I will respect and listen to them. Otherwise, we will never have any peace.  _

Their connection shuddered. It took a klick for him to recognize it as laughter, harmonic and fond.  _ That is true. And... thank you, for this. _

_Don’t thank me yet,_ he responded, his tone wry.  _ They haven’t even started. _

_You will do well. I have the utmost faith in you._

With that, Soundwave made the last of the connections. Megatron grunted at the sensation of three minds flickering near his. He recovered, giving his helm a shake. “Who wants to go first?”

_ I do,  _ Ravage said. He stood up, audials flicking and fangs bared.  _ If you hurt Soundwave, be it by laying a servo on him or breaking his spark, I will claw your optics out of your helm. Then you won’t even be able to face me, like the warrior you are, as I tear your internals to shreds. You will die sightless and alone. _

A shiver crawled down Megatron’s spinal struts at the low, snarling voice. Something else welled inside of him. He kept his face neutral, nodding. “That is fair.”

_ My turn.  _ Laserbeak flapped her wings.  _ You will never see me coming. I will know  exactly  what you did and how to take you down. You will never see or hear anything again. Before you know it, you’ll be gone. _

That something else grew several sizes in Megatron’s chest. “A fitting kill for a flier so stealthy.”

Buzzsaw clacked his beak.  _ You’ll know  I’m coming. You just won’t be able to do anything about it. Wherever you run to, I’ll find you. I’ll hunt you. And I’ll dispose of you like the vermin you are for hurting my creator. _

“I’ll bite you again!” Ratbat squeaked. 

Frenzy cracked his knuckles. “Say goodbye to your kneecaps!”

“And if you do get away from us,” Rumble began, “your life’s gonna be the Pits. Think of what we did today, ‘cept a million times worse. Alarms’ll go off wherever you go. Airlocks’ll open. The washracks’ll spray sewage in your face! Nothing’ll  ever work for you again, and you’ll never be able to forget what you did.”

Ravage leaped off the berth. He stalked over to Megatron, stopping only when they were nose-to-nose.  _ So. Are you willing to proceed with Soundwave, knowing this? _

A pause followed. Megatron swept his optics over all of them, noting their scowls and narrowed optics. He saw the care they held for their creator, but wielded like the most dangerous of weapons. He saw ferocity and passion forged into one blade. That something else in his chest, he realized, was pride. Pure and unbridled pride for this strong family — one that he wished to join. 

He grinned. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Ravage squinted at him.  _ Is that a challenge? _

“It is an acceptance of those terms. I would say the same to anyone who even thought of harming Soundwave! After all he has done for the cause and myself, he is worthy of the utmost respect I can give.”

A blue servo came to rest on his shoulder. Meeting Soundwave’s visor, he continued, “And I am  proud to know the fierce warriors he calls his creations.”

“You believe ‘im, boss?”

Soundwave squeezed his shoulder. After a moment, his mask slid back. “I do,” he said, smiling. It warmed Megatron’s spark in a way only Soundwave could.

_ Then... so do we,  _ Ravage decided.

“Yeah!” Ratbat chirped.

Laserbeak dipped her helm in assent.  _ You are a mech of your word, Megatron. _

Buzzsaw bobbed alongside his sister. Rumble and Frenzy crossed their arms. “Promise you’ll do right by the boss?”

“By Vector Sigma,” Megatron promised.

“...alright. That’s good enough for me. You, bro?”

“Same here.”

Soundwave joined Megatron on his knees, opening his arms. One by one, his creations slid off the berth. Ratbat landed on his helm. Laserbeak and Buzzsaw perched on his shoulders. Rumble and Frenzy shuffled into his arms, despite grumbles about “being too old for hugs.” Ravage curled up in his lap.

Megatron moved to stand, only for a servo to grab his wrist. Soundwave tugged him back down and wrapped an arm around him. When none of the cassettes protested, he relaxed into the embrace. 

“Hey, we support you guys ‘n everythin’. But if you start smoochin’, I’m out!”

A rare snort escaped Soundwave, and Megatron laughed against his cheek.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
